Innergy Power to Develop and Manufacture Fast-Charge Optimized Battery Systems for a Range of Applications, Including PHEVs and EVs

17 June 2008

ECOtality, Inc.’s subsidiary Innergy Power Corporation will develop and manufacture fast-charge optimized battery systems for a variety of different electric transportation applications, ranging from electric bikes to full-sized passenger electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

Innergy is targeting three different chemistries: sealed lead (i.e., its ThinLine planar sealed lead-acid cells); nickel metal hydride; and lithium-ion, according to Colin Read, Marketing Director for ECOtality. The Innergy Power battery systems will be designed with Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation’s (eTec) Advanced Charge Management (ACM) technology. eTec is also a subsidiary of ECOtality.

Specifically designed for eTec Minit-Charger systems, Innergy Power’s battery systems will feature optimized fast-charging capabilities to enable an EV or PHEV to be charged in 10 to 15 minutes while eliminating the risks of overcharging and extending overall battery life.

While Innergy Power’s advanced battery systems can be recharged overnight using standard 120V outlets, the ACM technology enhances fast charging capabilities to greatly reduce recharging time.

Because a battery’s ability to accept maximum charge is a complex variable that varies with use and as the battery ages, Minit-Charger technology incorporates real time measurement of those parameters so as to identify the battery’s ability to accept change. This input from the battery to the Minit-Charger (via proprietary battery interface and charge control (BICC) or battery discharge controller (BDC) battery modules is subsequently used to provide real time Minit-Charger output control to deliver safe charging at the optimum rate for the entire life of the battery.

Since the early 1990s, Innergy Power has shipped more 1,000,000 battery cells to more than 500 different customers for a variety of OEM and consumer applications. The company’s ThinLine planar sealed lead-acid cells are at the core of the company’s current battery line.

Structure of the ThinLine cell. Click to enlarge.

The ThinLine sealed lead cells and batteries reduce the weight and volume of the passive cell components, resulting in improved specific energy (by weight) and energy density (by volume). The thin planar design is accomplished through two patented components of the technology.

First, a patented pin and socket case design provides internal reinforcement which is welded through the plates and allows the use of lightweight, thin-wall ABS plastic containers.

Second, the use of lightweight, thin foil current collectors, which are embossed to increase surface contact area, further reduces the weight and volume of the cell. Because the lead used in the current collector is consolidated in a thin foil and is work-hardened to refine its grain structure, its rate of anodic corrosion (oxidation) is reduced over conventional grid-plate designs. This reduces the mass of lead required in the current collector to achieve desired service life.

Resources

• ThinLine Cells and Packs: Planar Sealed Lead Cells and Battery Packs